I'm gonna try and leave any vitriol and rhetoric OUT of this post and stick to some basic facts in an attempt to actually spur some enlightened debate on this rather divisive subject.
I live in Arizona. A border state. We have some wall/barriers. They are fine as they are. They exist in populated areas of cities primarily. Like Nogales.
Nogales is just south of Tucson on I -19. It is (along with San Luis/Yuma) pretty much the largest border crossing area in the State. Has been for years.
I've crossed there myself. In my car. With my wife and family. We have (in AZ) several other border "crossings" some very very rural (Sasabe) and some in between like Lukeville which is the crossing for the Phoenix folks to go to Rocky Point, a favorite party destination pretty much all year for some Arizonans.
We KNOW about borders and walls/barriers/fences. There is a lot of miles of fencing!
No one (mostly) objects to the way things are now. It works. Mexico is Arizona's largest trading partner.
There is NO pending crisis on OUR borders in AZ!
That's all simple fact.
Now, here's the rub. Some more facts about our wall straight out of our daily newspapers.
Within the last 2 weeks, 3 differing and fairly elaborate TUNNELS were discovered "under the wall" between Nogales AZ. and Nogales, Sonora.
That's fact. It's ALSO a fact, that whomever is motivated to attempt to smuggle contraband INTO AZ can just drive 15 miles (either) east OR west and be completely out in the desert wilderness with NO one in sight. And just WALK across the border with their contraband.
Now I ain't saying they will make it alive and well and un-accosted but they can easily do so at little to no cost. Just the cost of the travel to the nowhere spot along the border to step across the fence.
Why do you think these cartels (whoever!) go to all the trouble and expense to build/dig these smuggling tunnels?
Fact is, they do!
There are several reasons. One is the desert is pretty damn formidable to cross on foot. It's dangerous.
Reason two is, they're LIKELY to be arrested because we citizens employ Border Patrol agents who do just that-----Patrol!
They use technology of all kinds. Infra-red. All sorts of things. The result is that it is easier and much more effective to dig their tunnels. Punch their holes. Climb over where they can. The wall is EASIER to subvert than the desert just west (and some to the East) of Nogales.
That's the real Facts! That's the actual effectiveness of a wall. It's the smuggler's (easy) target to penetrate. It doesn't send an alarm, it doesn't radio BP agents of attempts to penetrate it, it can't even stop and arrest someone trying to get in. In the desert terrain it's nearly useless.
And where we already have it?? Well, it stops the lazy, the un-motivated, the small timers!! For the REAL smugglers, the REAL criminals, the Wall is the weak link!! That's all fact.
And it's why (in any borderland region) the vast majority of our citizenry KNOW the wall's effectiveness and doesn't want to fund more walls.
WE want to buy them more night vision goggles. More (and quicker) transportation to any penetration, MORE technology.
This present impasse resulting in our Gov't's shutdown is irresponsible. It's one man trying to keep an unwise campaign pledge to the most uninformed portion of his voting populace, rather than speaking up and explaining to them that we ALREADY have most of the barriers we need. No wall is necessary, more technology is.
And as a separate point, I will point out the obvious. We NEED an actual serious congressional look at our border policies and immigration LAWS!
They are f'd up! I'm for congress suspending ALL immigration (save for national security NEEDS) until we have a more sense-able and ENFORCEABLE immigration law. That includes a strong re-examination of our asylum law/policy. Asylum should be ONLY for people in REAL danger of harm.
Stop the nonsense!
End this wall shutdown!
1/14/2019 11:54 AM (edited)